DSG II: Here He Lies
by impatient14
Summary: After the events of Down She Goes. Damon adjusts to life as a Gemini witch, as Lily hides a secret from Bonnie. Caroline looks towards a life-calling. Stefan is looking into his father's past, and wants Lily's help. Elena and Kai travel the world, and Elena begins to notice some alarming changes in Kai after the birth of the newest Gemini twins.
1. Chapter 1

Damon closed his eyes and tuned out everything around him. He focused on the silence of his breath, the cross of his legs, the weight of his hands on his knees.

He tried to listen to the sound of his own heart beating, but could no longer hear it now that he was human. He pushed his thoughts towards the steady pulse under his skin and followed its rhythm, letting his mind wipe of everything except the steady hum of his blood coursing through his veins.

He could feel himself lift, his body feeling light as he moved slowly through the air. Not chancing the risk of opening his eyes, Damon kept his eyes closed, letting his calm resolve keep him afloat.

"You're getting pretty good at that." Stefan's voice cut through his meditation and Damon's eyes shot open as he fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Dick" Damon spat at him, his lips curling into a snarl. "I'm going to make you start wearing a bell."

"Missing the perks of vampirism brother?" Stefan teased as he entered Damon's bedroom more fully.

Damon clamored to his feet and balked. "What? And not be able to tune out the sounds of all the boring sex you and blondie are having? Pass." He snickered to himself and rubbed his hand across his stomach. It felt softer than he would have liked and made a mental note to start up a workout routine. He grimaced at the thought.

"Hilarious." Stefan pressed his lips together in a curt smile.

"Did you need something Stefan or did you just come in here to watch me fall on my face?"

Stefan shrugged. "Added perk." He stepped forward as Damon rolled his eyes and turned away from him. "Have you seen Lily?"

"Last time i saw our mother she was huddled up with Bonnie in her bedroom." Damon turned back to face him and sighed. "Those two have been a little too chummy for my taste."

"Bonnie is helping her adjust to her magic. Before the whole Harbingers show down Lily hadn't used her powers in over a hundred years. She needs help controlling it."

"Hey I'm new at this too." Damon threw his hands up. "And she's _my_ girlfriend."

"Are you jealous?" Stefan had a small smile on his face as he crossed his arms.

"What? No." Damon pursed his lips. "I just think they are probably up to something a little more than just Witchcraft 101."

"I think Lily is a little past that Damon."

"Fine, Witchcraft 205:An introduction to not killing your kids in an attempt to save their souls."

"Not funny." Stefan sighed and turned to leave.

"Hey, am I the only one forgetting the woman murdered our sister?" Damon stepped forward as Stefan stopped short but didn't turn around. "That she was helping the evil Avengers destroy the world before we stopped her?"

"She stopped herself Damon." Stefan looked over his shoulder at his brother. "She chose us. You've got to move on. Let this go." He gave his brother a nod before turning and leaving Damon staring bitterly after him.

/

Caroline walked briskly across Whitmore's campus. She was balancing her cell phone between her shoulder and ear and pulling papers out of her messenger bag.

"Are you sure you didn't take it with you?" Caroline huffed out, her voice coated in anxiety.

"Yeah Care, I didn't take any of my school stuff with me. Did you check Stefan's desk?" Elena said patiently.

"Yes. Ugh!" She stopped her foot as she stuffed crumpled papers back into her bag. "I need that letter!"

"Do you think you can get your professor to write you another letter of recommendation?"

"Its due today Elena! I swore i left it in my bag so that i could drop it off at the counseling center this morning." She shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. "I'm such an idiot for not doing it sooner."

"It is unlike you to wait to the last minute. Is everything going okay?"

"Yeah," Caroline sighed and began walking again. "Damon is being a little more pissy than usual, and there are five of us in that house now so-"

"So you're ready to pull your hair out?" Elena finished for her, a laugh escaping and echoing over the phone.

"Yep. Pretty much sums it up." Caroline smiled. "I miss you."

"I know, I miss you too." Caroline could hear Elena smiling through the phone.

"Where are you guys this week?"

"Rome." Elena said with excitement. "We just got back from some sight seeing actually."

"I cant believe the two of your are traipsing around Europe while i'm stuck here with your grumpy ex, his mother, and my best friend who barely does anything but study and speak in latin half the time." She complained.

"At least you have Stefan." Elena said hopefully.

"Yes." Caroline smiled and let out a wistful sigh. "At least i have Stefan."

As if saying his name was like some sort of bat symbol in the sky, Caroline spotted her boyfriend standing just a hundred yards away, leaning against her car and smiling.

"Speak of the devil." She said with a cock of her eyebrow. "I got to go."

Elena laughed. "Okay, tell Stefan hello for me."

"I will." Caroline's face grew somber. "Be careful Elena, i know i've said this a million times but Kai-"

"Caroline." Elena warned.

"Okay." Caroline took the hint. "I'm sorry. Talk to you later."

"Bye Care."

Caroline hung up.

She knew Elena could take care of herself and that Kai hadn't really done anything recently to make her think Elena would be in any danger with him, but she still couldn't accept the fact that they were together. After everything he had done, she was having trouble letting go of the past. She could see how happy he made Elena, and how much fun they had together, but there was still something in his eyes that told her he would never be the kind of person Caroline would trust.

Caroline let out a sigh but then remembered who was waiting for her just a few feet away. Her face brightened and there was an added bounce in her step as she approached her gorgeous boyfriend, still leaning against her car.

"Hi!" She said cheerily, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"

Stefan's smile was wide and it made Caroline's heart flutter knowing it was for her.

"I found something." He said coyly before pulling his hand from behind his back and producing a white envelope.

"Oh my God!" Caroline snatched the envelope from him and beamed. "How did you- Where?"

"It was on the floor next to the front door. Must of fallen out of your bag in your rush to leave this morning." He snaked his arms around her waist as she inspected the crispness of the envelope.

She looked up at him when she was satisfied it was presentable enough to turn in. "Yes well I wouldn't have been running late if you hadn't insisted on delaying me." She gave him a sexy smile and leaned in to kiss his lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck and Stefan pulled her against him.

"Hey, you're the one who decided to walk out of the bathroom without a towel." He kissed her softly. "I cant be held responsible for my actions at that point."

She hummed against his lips and dipped her tongue out to taste him in one swipe before pulling back. "I've got to go turn this in."

"Such a tease." He smiled against her lips.

Caroline stepped back enough to look up at him. "Did you talk to your mom?"

Stefan sighed. "No. She and Bonnie were off doing whatever it is they do these days."

"Do you think we should worry? About them I mean?"

"I don't think so. I think Damon is doing enough worrying for all of us."

"His adjustment hasn't been the best has it." Caroline said sympathetically.

"I don't know. He is taking to the magic part of it pretty well. Its the human stuff that's got him acting very...Damon like."

"What do you mean?"

Stefan sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. Its nothing, I'm sure I'm just overreacting."

Caroline ran her fingers through Stefan's hair. "I'm sure if you are feeling worried about this, there is a good reason Stefan. Trust your instincts."

Stefan stared back at her for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She grinned back and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I really do need to go though." She pulled out of his arms reluctantly.

"You sure about this?" Stefan said, his brows furrowing slightly. She knew he wasnt talking about her departure.

"No." Caroline answered honestly. "But...after everything that I went through with my mom...and us...I feel like i need to focus my energy on other people's problems for awhile. You always say i know just what to say to make you feel better...maybe i could help someone else too."

Stefan smiled. "Well, I think anyone who gets you as their peer counselor will be lucky to have you."

"I haven't been accepted into the program yet Stefan." She said anxiously.

"You know, we do have ways of making sure you get in." Stefan raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"I am not compelling my way into getting people to discuss their problems with me." Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure it would defeat the purpose of a safe place, knowing i forced myself into their issues."

"I know." Stefan pulled her into his arms for a hug. "You're going to get it Caroline." His hand went up to her hair where he let his fingers play with the blonde tendrils before whispering in her ear. "And you're going to be great."

/

Elena soaked in the warm sun as she leaned over the balcony of their hotel room. The city was beautiful below her, and she had never felt so free.

They had spent the last few months traveling and visiting everything they could think to go see. Kai usually defaulted to where Elena wanted to go, but sometimes insisted on pit stops along the way. The cafe's in Amsterdam being one of them.

Elena chuckled at the memory of a very stoned Kai floating potato chips into their mouths and building what he called the world's longest straw out of Red Vines. It had been a terrible mess but Elena had never laughed harder.

She felt his hands wrapping around her waist and shivered as Kai's lips tickled against her neck. "Dinner?"

"Mhmm." She hummed, turning her head so that she was nuzzling against him. "That little place we saw today? With the old couple?"

"Sure." He nodded reaching around and kissing her quickly before releasing her. "Of course, i was talking about dinner of the plasma variety."

"Oh." Elena blushed. "Well I should be alright for a little while longer. You don't need-"

"Oh shut up already." Kai held his wrist up to her mouth and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Come on, I know you want to, you fiend you."

Elena rolled her eyes and gave him an annoyed smirk but took his wrist in her hands anyway. She _was_ hungry.

She bit into him as carefully as she could manage, sucking down a few large gulps before retracting her fangs and stepping back. "I just realized we are standing on the balcony." She looked around to see if anyone had seen them.

"Eh, its Rome, no one cares as long as you don't diss their God." He gave her a half smile. "That enough?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine." She nodded and pricked her finger on a loose nail in the balcony. She brought it up to Kai's lips and brushed her blood across them, slowly painting them red.

Kai smiled and Elena was sure it was the sexiest thing she had ever seen when he flicked his tongue out to lick her blood off, healing the wound in his wrist. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She said seductively.

It wasn't like all they did was have sex. Most of the time they found themselves laughing into the darkness at night, they had so much fun together. But there were times, their dark passion overcame their light hearted humor and were left practically ripping their clothes to shreds in order to feel skin on skin.

This was definitely one of those times.

Kai spun her around so that she was being pushed back into the hotel room, the setting sun illuminating Kai's form as he stepped back and pulled his shirt over his head.

"Bed." He commanded and Elena smirked at his attempt at authority. She complied though, pushing her dress up and over her head just as Kai was getting his hands on her. He turned her around so that his hardness was pressed against her backside and Elena felt a deep pit of warm fire exploding out of her abdomen and coursing through her body.

He walked them towards the bed, ignoring the buzzing of Elena's phone on the bedside table. Elena heard it too, but couldn't care less about anything that wasn't Kai's hands on her body. He kissed down her neck, biting softly as he made his way to her shoulder before licking his way back up towards her ear. Elena let out a soft moan and reached behind her to cup Kai through his jeans.

" _Mmm._ " Kai bucked into her hand and collapsed them onto the bed, pushing Elena onto her back and capturing her mouth with his own. He grinded his hips down into hers and Elena brought hers up to push against him.

Her phone began to buzz again and Kai let out a frustrated groan before lifting himself up and stalking over to the table.

"Don't throw it off the balcony again!" Elena vamp sped to his side and pulled her phone from his hands.

"Buzz kill." Kai flopped back onto the bed with a sigh.

Elena looked down at her phone to see it was Alaric. She contemplated just turning it off but knew if he was calling it would be for a good reason. She pressed accept and heard Kai groan as she brought the phone to her ear. "Ric?"

"Elena! Hey!" His voice was cheerful and Elena was immediately annoyed that he had interrupted what was about to be one mind blowing orgasm for something that wasn't life or death.

"Hey, what's up?" She flopped down on the bed next to Kai and let her hand run down his thigh.

"I'm a father!" Ric replied quickly and Elena shot back up to a seated position.

"What? Jo had the babies?" She shot a look down to Kai who had a wide eyed expression on his face. "That's wonderful Ric! Congratulations!"

"Thanks Elena." Ric sighed. "Just wanted you to know, they're doing great- Jo too."

"I am so happy for you guys." Elena said brightly.

"Thanks Elena." Ric cleared his throat and his tone became a bit more harsh. "I trust you'll pass the news along?"

"Message has already been delivered." Elena said coyly.

"Alright. Good. I better go then."

"Okay, pass my congrats on to Jo."

"Will do."

Elena hung up and tossed the phone onto the bed. She surprised Kai by jumping into his lap and straddling him with her legs.

"Congratulations Uncle Kai." She leaned down to kiss his lips, ignoring the lint of fear in Kai's eyes.

/

"I know it seems strange, but if you aren't going to find the control you need if you don't first give yourself over to it." Bonnie's tone was instructional despite her growing frustration. "I know this is difficult for you, but your magic isn't something to be ashamed of or suppressed. Its a gift. You just have to learn how to use it correctly."

Lily nodded solemnly, wanting to make it look like she was struggling with the emotions Bonnie seemed to believe she was battling. "Its all so overwhelming."

"Yes." Bonnie nodded. "But if Damon can do this, you can do this." Her smile was teasing and Lily smiled kindly.

"Thank you for your help Bonnie. I know there are many things you could be doing with your time."

"I'm happy to help you Lily, really I am." Bonnie shook out her hands and then offered them to Lily. "Do you want to try again?"

Lily nodded.

They were sitting on the floor of Lily's bedroom, crossed legged and facing each other. Bonnie was doing her best to teach Lily how to control some of the more basic spells that she was pretending to flounder with.

The truth was that Lily needed Bonnie's trust, and the easiest way to gain someone's trust is to be vulnerable and require their help. Lily needed Bonnie to believe that she only wanted to be a good witch, and was dedicated to making herself useful.

They joined hands and began reciting a spell in latin that was supposed to float a rose that laid between them and make it dance across the room. Lily let her mind wander during the spell and let out an exasperated sigh as the rose fell to the floor after only a short flight.

"I don't understand. When its a matter of life and death i am able to focus and use my powers so easily. Why cant i do it now?"

"Its okay Lily. It just takes practice." Bonnie was smiling kindly and Lily felt guilty for what she was about to suggest.

"I wonder..." She let her eyes roam to the floor, baiting Bonnie into asking her to continue. "Its just that i remember there was a spell...my coven used when one of us had trouble focusing our magic. I wonder if that would be helpful at all."

"Really? I've never come across anything like that. Do you know it?"

"No, but i could get it."

"Okay, i don't see what it would hurt to try it." Bonnie shrugged. "Had enough for today?"

Lily sighed. "Yes, i believe so. Thank you Bonnie."

"No problem." She stood up and placed her hand on Lily's arm for a second. "I better go see what Damon is getting himself into."

"Good idea." Lily smiled. She watched as Bonnie left her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

It was going to take a lot of strength to follow through with this. She would need to make sure Bonnie never knew her true intentions if she expected it to work.

No matter what, Lily knew she was willing to do whatever it took to protect her family.

/

She watched from a distance.

Hidden in shadows and cloaked in darkness.

It wasn't time yet. She wasnt ready, wasnt sure.

Soon though, soon everything would change.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're being an ass." Bonnie said casually as she scrubbed her leg with Damon's loofah.

Damon smirked and raised his hands out of the bath water. "May I invite you to remember who you're talking to here?"

"Oh i didn't forget Damon, I just expected after a few months you'd have adjusted already." She raised an eyebrow at him as his feet rubbed against the outside of her thigh.

They were sitting in Damon's oversized bathtub, their backs to either side and their legs outstretched around each other.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Can I seriously be the only one just the littlest bit concerned about Lily's sudden fascination with becoming more powerful?"

Bonnie scowled. "Look I know it's...a little strange, but maybe she is just trying to fit in..you know, find some common ground?" Bonnie shrugged. "Plus, with everything we've been through these last couple of years, its not a bad idea for her to brush up on this stuff. We don't want her to be a sitting duck the next time something blows up in our face."

"Listen," Damon leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Bonnie's waist, bringing their bodies together and she adjusted herself so she was sitting on his lap. "Lily Salvatore has never, and will never be anyone's victim." He reached up and placed a soft kiss to her lips. "And if she has you thinking otherwise, you're being played." Bonnie allowed him to kiss her again but didn't return it, her mind working quickly to review her time with Lily so far.

She pulled back abruptly when a thought occurred to her. "She did ask me to help her perform some spell the Gemini coven used to use to help focus their magic."

Damon's face scrunched in disbelief. "I've never heard of it, and i've been a good little student." He kissed the tip of her nose and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Be careful Bon Bon," He looked up to her eyes which were an earthy green that made his heart skip a beat. "She isn't what she appears to be, trust me."

Bonnie's face grew more concerned but didn't say anything. She only nodded and let her hips roll forward slightly. Damon's concern for her made her skin hot and eager to be touched.

Damon let out a soft moan against her neck. "Down to business then?"

Bonnie nuzzled his head up so that she could suck his lower lip into her mouth and then bit it softly. "Mhmm."

Damon took that as his cue to bring her hips down harder into his growing length and licked his way inside of her mouth. Bonnie opened up for him instantly and slid her tongue across his and over the roof of Damon's mouth. They kissed slowly, their bodies moving against each other in the water and letting out soft moans of pleasure.

Damon reached between them to help guide himself inside of her but was stopped by Bonnie's hand. "Not so fast Damon." She panted against his mouth. "You know better than that."

"Oh come on Bon," Damon wined, letting his hands fall to her waist again, squeezing his fingers into her hips.

"Hey, you're human now. I'm not ready to have little Damon babies." She said quickly between kisses. She stood up then, letting water slosh around her legs as she stared down at him. "Come on." She reached her hand out to pull him up, a groan escaping his lips before stepping out of the bathtub.

"Don't they have pills for this now?" Damon pushed Bonnie gently against the counter and kissed her deeply. She let out a small noise of confirmation but then pulled back.

"I already told you I'm not going on the pill Damon. The hormones screw everything up, its unnatural."

"So I'm doomed to wear the plastic coat of death forever?" He sighed against her lips.

"For the foreseeable future, as long as you want to keep sleeping with me...yes." Bonnie said firmly, with a cock of her eyebrow.

Damon returned her look with a smirk. "Well in that case," He quickly pulled her up and into his arms, moving them to his bed. "Let's go have us some FDA approved fun."

/

"And what makes you want to spend your time helping others?"

Caroline was careful not to fidget and kept her eyes focused on Dr. Porter, the peer counseling supervisor. "I feel like i have a lot of experiencing helping people already, my friends and myself, get through some difficult times and I really like the feeling of knowing I can help. It makes me feel good to know something I said helped put things in perspective and made life a little easier on someone."

"I see." The woman nodded and looked down at her desk to jot down a few notes on her steno pad. "If you don't mind, tell me a little bit about some of the obstacles you've had to overcome, and how you managed to do so."

Caroline froze for a moment. She was caught completely off guard, she didn't know she would have to talk about herself during the interview. "Uh- um...well..."

"I understand if you'd rather not discuss it, but it would be helpful for the review process for me to know your methods, as well as show your capabilities to manage emotional hardships."

"No," Caroline interjected as quickly as she could, "Its fine, I don't mind." She smiled softly, and tried to calm her nerves. "Um, well my mother died almost a year ago-" She paused, waiting for the woman's condolences but they never came, instead she just nodded and let let out a soft "Hmm."

"-and i didn't handle it very well at first. I kind of...shut down." Caroline looked down at her hands, knowing her cheeks were more colorful than she wanted them to be.

"I see." The doctor nodded and wrote down some more.

Caroline took a deep breath. "Yeah..I did a lot of things I'm not proud of...and would rather forget actually." She shook her head and then raised it to meet her interviewer's eyes head on. "But it taught me a lot. It taught me that even when the worst thing imaginable happens, you can survive...you can make it through to the other side. You just have to trust yourself, and the people who care about you. I learned it was okay to reach out and let people help you...and I learned that in the end, caring for yourself was just as important as caring for others."

Dr. Porter's ambivalent expression softened and Caroline's shoulders relaxed considerably when she saw the woman's mouth curling into a soft smile. "Well said Miss Forbes."

Caroline beamed.

"Well," The doctor stood up and came around to the other side of her desk. She leaned against it as she stood in front of Caroline. "I think you'd make a lovely addition to our peer counseling staff here at Whitmore."

Caroline stood up quickly, a wide grin on her face. "Really?!"

Dr. Porter laughed kindly. "Yes, really."

"Oh wow!" Caroline rushed forward and hugged the woman, who was startled at first but then let herself be hugged. "Thank you so much! You wont regret this!"

"I don't imagine i will." Dr Porter chuckled softly as Caroline released her. "Your training will start on Monday at 9:00am in the meeting room down the hall."

"Oh my god, okay- I'll be there!" Caroline couldn't stop smiling and reached out to shake the doctors hand before turning to leave, thanking her again.

As soon as she made it to the hallway Caroline pulled out her phone to text Stefan.

 **Caroline:** _I GOT IT!_

 **Stefan** : _Told you_

 **Stefan:** _Congratulations babe_

 **Caroline** : _Thanks :)_

 **Stefan:** _Celebrate tonight?_

 **Caroline:** _Margaritas?_

 **Stefan:** _Margaritas._

 **Caroline:** _Aaaand movie of my choice?_

 **Stefan:** _okay but I get at least one veto_

 **Caroline:** _that's fine, ill just throw out a decoy i know you'll reject first ;)_

 **Stefan:** _Vixen_

 **Caroline:** _You love it._

 **Caroline** : _I'll make it up to you_

 **Stefan:** _Tease._

 **Caroline:** _Not a tease, a promise_

 **Stefan** : _Oh yeah? A promise of what exactly?_

 **Caroline:** _I'm thinking we open the little black box under our bed tonight._

 **Stefan** : . _..._

 **Caroline:** _Yes Stefan?_

 **Stefan:** _Caroline if you arent home in twenty minutes I'm stating without you._

Caroline giggled to herself as she rushed to her car, eager to get her night with Stefan started.

/

Stefan sighed as he put his phone in his pocket. He tried to think of anything that wasn't his gorgeously sexy girlfriend naked in his bed, knowing anyone who saw him right then would see the bulge he was sporting in his jeans.

He cocked his head to the side as sounds of his mother murmuring under her breath came floating into his ears and felt himself begin to soften.

 _Thank you mother. That'll do it._

He moved towards the sound, finding her sitting on the couch in the large living room, her head bent over a large book.

"I've been looking for you." Stefan said casually as he approached his mother.

Lily jumped slightly, obviously started by Stefan's appearance. "Oh? The house isn't that large Stefan, I imagine you weren't looking that hard." She gave him a kind smile and stood, closing the book and leaving it on the couch.

Stefan gave her a strained grin and shrugged. "Can we talk?"

"Of course." She sat back down on the couch as Stefan took a seat in the chair opposite her. "What's this about son?"

Stefan still couldn't get used to the fact that his mother was right across from him, smiling at him, and calling him son. It was like a weird combination of deja vu and a nightmare in disguise. "Uh, its about father."

Lily's body stiffened and Stefan heard her hear rate pick up. He raised his hands in an attempt to relax her. "Listen, I know you don't want to talk about it...but I think i deserve to know who he really was. It's not like i have some misguided view of who the man was, but I still don't understand why he was in hell."

Lily folded her hands in her lap and looked down at them. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Stefan, there is much you do not know about your father, and what he was capable of."

"I think i have a pretty good idea mother," Stefan countered, pushing himself back into the chair. "Especially by your unwillingness to tell me."

"I just don't see the point Stefan, no good can come of it." She shook her head. "Your father and his sins against...they are his own. There is no need for you to burden yourself."

"Mother-" Stefan started.

"Stefan," Lily interrupted. "There will come a time, i'm afraid, that this information will need to come to light, but as for now I will be keeping it to myself. Please trust that I know what is best for you and your brother."

Stefan shook his head. "I don't see how I'm supposed to trust you, I barely know you...just because you helped us bring down the Harbingers doesn't mean we are completely okay here." He sighed. "Unlike Damon though, I am willing to try...willing to move on. But i need you to be honest with me. About everything."

Lily nodded as her lips pressed into a hard line. "I understand Stefan," She rose from the couch, the book under one of her arms, and walked over to him. She placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it softly once before letting her hand fall to her side. "I am being honest with you when I tell you, i am doing what is best. I'm sorry you can not believe that, but it is the truth." She smiled sadly down at him before walking out of the living room.

/

Lily found Bonnie the following day outside, laying in the grass and practicing calling the elements.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you Bonnie," Lily said softly, "But i found the spell i spoke of the other day."

Bonnie opened her eyes to the bright blue sky above her and squinted at the suns harsh glare. She sat up with a hand over her eyes and pulled on her sunglasses that were laying next to her. "Oh yeah?" She turned to face Lily and motioned to the book she held in her hands. "Lets have a look then."

Lily could tell Bonnie's voice was strained, and herown heart started to pound. "Well, if you are busy we can-"

"No, its not a problem." Bonnie smiled. "I'd like to see it."

Lily nodded and joined Bonnie in the grass. She hesitantly placed the large book in Bonnie's outstretched hands.

Bonnie ran her fingers over the engraving on the cover of the book, tracing the edges of two twin figures, their arms outstretched and molding into one. She noticed the intensity at which Lily regarded the book and felt a certain kind of power radiating off it as well. She did her best to keep her face only moderately intrigued as she opened it carefully.

The book wasn't particularly thick, but the pages were packed with lines of writing. Some of it seemed more like diary entries, others were spells written in various languages and symbols. Lily flipped to a page towards the back and pointed to a paragraph of writing..

"This is the spell." She said softly.

Bonnie looked at the words and tried her best to understand what she was seeing. It wasn't in any language she had seen before. "What language is it in?"

"Oh, its a rather old dialect the Gemini coven used around the time of its conception." Lily said smoothly. "It is a very old spell."

Bonnie knew this didn't look right, and she knew better than to do a spell without full knowledge of what the spell would do and where the power was coming from. "Lily, I have to say-"

"I know you must be concerned Bonnie," Lily placed her hand over Bonnie's on the book. "But i can assure you, I only want to do what's best for my children."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed at Lily's choice of words and waited for her to explain further, but Lily said nothing more. She merely looked back at Bonnie nodded softly.

 _She is trying to tell me something, without telling me..._

 _What is it?_

 _Can i really trust her?_

Bonnie wasn't sure, but there was something in Lily's eyes that made her feel like Lily was telling the truth. That whatever this spell did really was in the best interest of Damon and Stefan. Even so, she couldn't go into this blind.

"I understand that." Bonnie said softly. "But you have to understand that i cant help you with this, without knowing exactly what it is we are doing."

Lily sighed and pulled the book from Bonnie's grasp gently. "I respect that Bonnie, I do. But i fear if i tell you, your allegiance to certain members of your circle will sway your decision."

Bonnie felt her skin crawling in nerves. She was suddenly desperate to know what it was Lily was up to, to help her or not, she had to know. "You say you want to protect your children?" Bonnie leaned closer to the older witch. "I love Damon, I'd do anything to keep him safe. You know that don't you?"

Lily smiled and nodded. "Yes, i do know that."

"Okay, so you can trust me Lily." She reached out and placed her hand over Lily's. "I promise."

Lily looked back down to the book and then back up to Bonnie slowly. She let out a shaky sigh before opening her mouth to speak.

"Alright."

/

Kai laid under the tuscan sun, his face soaking up rays he knew would burn his skin if he didn't put on sunscreen soon.

Elena was back at the hotel room, sleeping off their night of debauchery while he stretched out across a pool chair. He smiled at himself as he thought over their evening.

They had indulged in a long dinner, talking with the old couple who owned the small restaurant well into the night before walking the streets with a few bottles of wine and nothing but laughs in the air. They stopped from time to time, taking advantage of the shadows in the alleys, and necked like teenagers. By the time they made it back the hotel the sun was rising and their laughter had yet to die out.

It had helped him take his mind off of the growing anxiety of knowing another set of gemini twins had been born. He didn't really care much about the babies themselves, although found himself grinning softly at stuffed animal he saw in a store window. He quickly wiped it from his face, it's source confusing him.

 _I don't care about babies._

 _I certainly don't care about being an uncle_.

But still, there was this warm feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he thought about them. Their presence would be a problem in the future, of course. Once they merged he would no longer be the leader of the Gemini coven and his power would be reduced greatly, something that irked him. He liked being the most powerful witch in the world, it wasn't exactly something he was willing to give up. He knew he had twenty years or so before it became a problem, as long as the twins weren't forced to merge sooner.

He shook away that thought. He had proven he wasn't the mass murdering kind anymore, hopefully his family wouldn't go behind his back and somehow strip him of his title sooner than necessary. He didnt even think that was possible.

His mouth was suddenly much dryer than it was a moment before and he reached out his hand for the cup of water that was on the table next to him. He sucked it down quickly, finding the bottom of the glass before he was ready. Eye closed, his fingers tapped the glass as he recited a spell to fill it up again with water. He brought the glass to his lips and tipped it up, expecting cold water to freshen his lips, but was met with nothing but air.

Kai's eyes flew open as they inspected the empty cup.

 _What the hell?_

 _Maybe last night was a little much for me too..._

He shrugged it off and tapped the glass again, murmuring the spell more precisely this time and smiled to himself as the glass filled with water.

He let out a sigh as he brought it to his lips, drinking it down quickly and trying to ignore the nagging feeling pulling at his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Damon isn't an idiot.

He is fully aware that people are walking on egg shells around him and while it meant he didn't have to deal with anyone elses shit, he would periodically catch one of them giving him a pathetic little look out of the corner of their eye. It was like his brother and friends thought he was about to implode or something and it irked him to no end.

The truth was, Damon was battling a multitude of thoughts and emotions, and with the added burden of his humanity, he felt himself incapable of sorting through them all efficiently.

At first, everything seemed to come to him naturally. Bonnie helped him with his transition into being mortal and began working with him on witchcraft soon after Jo and Alaric's wedding. He remembered how to be human more or less, and some of the more annoying parts of mortality like having to wear band aids and condoms he got used to pretty quickly. Witchcraft wasn't much different, he found himself easily picking up the more basic skills, only having trouble with the ones that required an intense amount of focus, something his human brain needed a lot of work on.

It was a constant source of irritation, his mind's sudden inability to concentrate on something longer than a few minutes at a time. His thoughts would morph from their intended subject subtly, and before he knew it he would be mapping out Bonnie's inner thighs or trying to solve the mystery that was his mother.

Despite Stefan's insistence that she was trying to redeem herself after everything she had done in the past, there was something inside of Damon that refused to accept that. It pulled at him constantly, like a mission waiting to be accomplished. He found himself dissecting every word, every look, like it was his duty..

The fact that Bonnie had formed some sort of student sensei relationship with Lily only added fuel to the flames of his distrust, knowing if he were up to something he would want the most powerful witch around on his side. There were times he found himself gravitating towards his mother, like his body refused to keep distance between them, especially when Lily was with Bonnie. Damon wasn't above putting a glass to his mother's bedroom door in order to hear what it was she and Bonnie were doing, but was always left with more questions than answers. It didn't help that Bonnie wasn't receptive to his wariness until recently. She was always defending his mother and it made something inside of him twitch in discomfort.

His internal battle against his mother, was Damon's biggest concern, but it wasn't the only one he had at the moment.

He was also impatiently waiting for his specialty to make itself known. All gemini witches have a special skill, his mother could find anything in the world if she tried, Kai could siphon magic from people or objects, and Jo could manipulate the weather when she was at her most powerful. Lily had tried to explain his absence of a special skill as something that would correct itself as Damon became more adept at witchcraft and focusing.

He spent an hour or so a day meditating and working on clearing his mind, but no matter what he did he was always left with frustrating thoughts of his mother. They pushed inside without permission and he was left no closer to figuring out what his ability would be.

Bonnie would help as often as she could, using her powers to help him clear his mind and teaching him techniques to focus as much as possible. The levitation spell he was working on this morning was supposed to be one of those techniques. He was to clear his mind of everything except being light as air. Once he accomplished lifting off the ground, he was supposed to be able to think more clearly about whatever it was he wanted to figure out.

Of course Stefan had to butt his spikey little head in and Damon was left flat on his ass.

Damon had thought about reaching out to Kai and seeing what he thought of the whole him not having any special powers thing, but ultimately decided a conversation with Kai was something he'd rather avoid at all costs. Before Kai and Elena left for their little gallivant across the world, Kai had been a gnat flying around Damon's face, a pesky little nuisance that refused to leave him alone. Whether it was to test Damon's witchcraft reflexes or annoy him with his snarky little comments about his relationship with Bonnie, Kai didn't make it easy for Damon to ask him for help.

And still, Damon found himself contemplating a phone call to his so called 'leader' to get his take on the situation.

And perhaps see what Kai could find out about what Lily had up her sleeve as well.

What good was having a leader of the Gemini coven if he couldn't, you know, lead?

/

Damon could hear noises from his brother's room that he rather wished he couldn't.

His plan was to riffle around his mother's room while she was outside with Bonnie doing God knows what, but was stopped by the sounds of something vibrating and Caroline moaning indiscreetly.

 _He is paying me back for my comment about their boring sex._

 _Touche brother, touche._

Damon lips curled up into an annoyed grimace and rolled his eyes. He began humming Salt & Pepper's _Let's Talk About Sex_ while he continued to his mother's bedroom. He looked around cautiously for a moment before heading straight for the desk across the room. He opened drawers, riffling through its contents without an idea of what he was looking for.

When nothing jumped out screaming _clue! clue! clue!,_ Damon shoved the drawers shut and went to his mother's bed where a a few long pieces of parchment were laying. The paper was yellowed and crisp, like a dried leaf in autumn. There were names written all over it, and lines drawn to connect names to others. It didn't look like a traditional family tree, but after reading through the names, Damon realized thats what he was looking at.

The names were arranged in a circular pattern, twisting and curving around rings of generations. He found his own name on the outskirts of one of the middle rings along with Lily's. It looked liked the rings of an old oak tree, sometimes lines cutting through the circle and sometimes lines jutting out like the plank of ship. The names circled around, thousands of them, until it reached the center. There, in thick black ink, _Kai Parker_ was carved into the parchment. The script was sloppy, as if written in a rush, the letters baring down unnaturally into the paper. Underneath his name, but still in the center were the names Lucas and Nora Saltzman.

Damon knew that one of Ric's twins would be the next in line to be leader of the coven after they merged, but seeing their names there sent a shiver down his spine. Only one could survive after all, the other twin would be absorbed by the stronger of the two.

It was for this reason Kai became the more human version of himself he was today. He had absorbed his brother's magic as well as many aspects of his personality. This caused him to grow a conscience, something Damon found hilarious as a vampire, and now felt very grateful for as a human. If they had to deal with evil Kai now, he didn't know how they would handle it. He was no longer a vampire, Elena was all googly eyes over him, and his mother wouldnt last three rounds with a fruit fly (according to her at least).

Damon stared down at all the names for another long moment, soaking in the thousands of people who were once or were still in the Gemini coven. He wondered what had happened when he became human, if his name magically appeared or if it was always there. He shook his head at that thought, knowing if his name had been there since his birth then Stefan's would be as well. The circular tree must be enchanted in some way, to display the current status of the Gemini coven.

Damon got lost in the countless circles, looking for some sign of its magic when he heard Stefan and Caroline finish their hike up orgasm mountain.

He rolled his eyes at the shameless cries of pleasure from Caroline and spoke softly down at the paper. "You sure showed me Stefan."

Damon couldn't hear it, but knew his brother was laughing from his bed across the hall.

/

"No turkey?" Damon whined into the refrigerator. "Who the hell is eating my damn turkey?" His voice carried throughout the Salvatore boarding house.

Stefan and Caroline were still locked away in their bedroom but he had seen Lily reading in the living room when he came down to make himself some lunch. She walked languidly into the kitchen, a small book in her hands and her head down.

"Was the turkey not communal?" She said quietly, her eyes raising a fraction of a second before diving back into her book.

"Uh, no." Damon snapped back. "I like the one with the pepper. If you're going to be eating it too then you need to put it on the damn list!" He jutted his finger towards the pad of paper magnetized to the fridge door. "There is a reason we have this stupid thing and its so i don't have to eat Bonnie's disgusting liverwurst."

"My apologies Damon." Lily finally looked away from her book to meet her son's narrowed eyes. "I wasn't aware you had such a strong bond with your choice of lunch meat."

"Ha. Ha." He retorted with whip of his head. "You're hilarious mother. Honestly."

"May I suggest you put your name on it?" She said with a sneer before returning to her reading and turning out of the kitchen.

Bonnie passed her then to enter just as Damon was mumbling something about matricide.

"Seriously? The turkey thing again?" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just put your name on it? Or by two packages?"

"Because _Bonnie,_ that is not how the system works. Everyone puts what they want on the list and then whosever turn it is to buy, buys it. Then we all stick to whatever it is we asked for." He threw his hands up in irritation. "The evil spawn mascarading as my mother is doing this just to piss me off."

"Damon, I don't think she-"

"You don't know her Bonnie." Damon hissed. "She is a manipulative little bit-"

"Damon!" Bonnie slapped his arm as she reached behind him to pull out a bottle of water. "You seriously need to chill about your mom." She opened her water and took a long gulp before replacing its top and grasping if firmly in both hands. "She really does just want whats best for you." Bonnie carefully avoided Damon's gaze as she leaned agaisnt the counter next to him.

"Uh...whats that supposed to mean?" Damon questioned with a cock of his eyebrow. "How does eating my lunch have anything to do with whats best for me?"

Bonnie sighed. "I only meant you need to cut her a break. Okay? This is getting a little ridiculous."

"Bon, I told you-"

"I know what you said, and i haven't forgotten it. I have my guard up okay? I just..." It was obvious his girlfriend was holding something back and Damon was on the verge of shaking her senseless to get what he wanted. He bit the inside of his cheek though, restraining every impulse to pounce. "I think you're selling her short...you need to just give her a chance. Okay?"

Damon scoffed, knowing she was purposefully keeping something from him but unwilling to lay his own cards on the table yet either. "Fine."

Bonnie gave him the half smile that sent his heart fluttering like a teenaged boy again and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "That a boy." He wanted to play hard to get but his instinct was to lean into her touch, especially as her hand came up his lower back and rubbed gently. "I've got class..." She leaned in and brushed her lips against his ear. "...Later?"

Damon pursed his lips, still slightly irritated but unable to ignore the blood rushing to his groin. "You know where to find me."

/

She watched.

The short, dark skinned woman left the kitchen just as the eldest Salvatore repositioned himself to stare out the very window she stared into.

He couldn't see her, his human sight not capable from her position, but she could tell he knew there was something to see outside.

Damon Salvatore wore his experience in the narrow of his eyes, the crease of his brow.

She knew the absence of his vampirism didn't take away his predatory instincts though, and those instincts would make her mission all the more difficult if she wasnt succeful in this moment.

She focused the scope attached to her rifle, aligning it so that the barrel was pointing straight between his eyes. She cocked the rifle, aimed once more, and placed her finger over the trigger.

A slow easy breath escaped her lungs before her finger pressed down firmly.

There was a scurry of movement right as the sound of the rifle's blast echoed around her.

When she looked back through the window she saw the younger Salvatore brother crumpling to the ground, a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.

Damon Salvatore spared a glance at his unconcious brother before looking out the window, his eyes wide and his body frozen in shock.

He searched for the source of his brother's incapacitation, but all he caught was the glimpse of something dark moving quickly through the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_ _This chapter is entirely Steroline dedicated. It will explore Stefan and Caroline's sexual relationship. There will be kink exploration but they will all be fairly common and tame. This chapter is explicit so if this is something youd rather not read about- this is your warning. There will be very little plot development except for stefan's POV at the beginning and then during their conversation at the end. If Steroline just isn't your thing, you can skip this chapter and feel like you haven't missed much._

Stefan couldn't get the conversation with his mother out of his head. There was obviously something very serious she was keeping from him about his father, something that would affect him and Damon. She said she would let him know when the time came, but when would that be? He wasn't sure he trusted her enough to just wait patiently until she decided she was ready to share whatever it was she was hiding from him.

He decided he would start looking into his father's past and try to see if he could come up with the answer himself. Whatever his mother is keeping from him, maybe its something he could find in his old family records.

The sound of the front door opening pulled Stefan out of his thoughts, and his lips curled into a mischievous smile.

Caroline was home.

They had spent the last few months mapping out each other's bodies, since they already knew so much about one another's minds. They sometimes spent entire days in their bedroom, teasing and worshiping, making love and fucking like porn stars. He had never felt this comfortable with someone. He had never trusted a partner as much as he did Caroline, and he found himself wanting to try just about everything to make her squirm. He loved that Caroline was just as open to experimenting with knew things too, and their sex was so exciting he sometimes found himself hard and pulsing with need at just the thought of her.

Of course, they also spent nights just making love to one another, slow and sweet and full of passion. It was something they could sense in one another, what kind of sex they needed. It was a look in Caroline's eye, or the quirk of Stefan's brow, that let them know what they were in store for in that moment. Stefan was positive no one knew his body they way Caroline did, and he felt confident about his knowledge of hers as well.

He heard her drop her bag next to the couch downstairs and knew from her earlier texts that she was in a playful mood today. His phone began to buzz in his pocket and Stefan's smile turned into a wide grin as he pulled it out.

Sometimes they would send each other messages about what they wanted, especially if it meant they would be role playing. He eagerly opened the message to read what Caroline wanted him to do.

 **Caroline:** _Take off your clothes except a tie around your neck. Sit down at your desk and wait for me Mr. Salvatore._

Stefan's dick twitched earnestly.

Her use of Mr. Salvatore led him to believe that they would definitely be role playing this afternoon. It was something that he had never really been interested in before, worried it would take away from the intimacy or be awkward, but Stefan trusted Caroline so much that it didn't feel weird at all the first time she came into their bedroom wearing a french maid costume and asked if she could clean the bedroom. He remembered being so turned on by her commitment to the scene, and Stefan fell into the role of seductive employer very easily.

Stefan put his phone on his dresser and began pulling his shirt over his head as he walked to his closet. He pulled a deep red tie from the rack and tied it around his neck, loving the feel of the tie's silk against his bare neck. His fingers worked the button and zipper of his jeans before pushing them, along with his boxers to the floor. It should feel weird to be completely naked, except for the tie, and walking around his bedroom in the middle of the day with a half-hard dick, but Stefan found it exhilarating. The rest of the house's occupants didn't have vampire hearing and he knew they were all otherwise occupied anyway.

Considering her choice for his attire, and the location he was supposed to wait for her, Stefan assumed they would be playing some teacher/student scene and moved the chair from the corner of his room to the opposite side of his desk. He knew Caroline would be pleased he had thought to set up the scene further.

He opened his super hearing to listen for Caroline and snickered as the sounds of her activities filled his ears. He could hear her pouring some water into a glass, there was a low gurgling noise that told him she was drinking it and doing so very slowly. As Stefan sat at his desk, he heard a chair downstairs being pulled out and shook his head.

She is going to make me wait.

Lying to himself, Stefan pretended to be annoyed, but in reality loved the anticipation. Sometimes Caroline would leave him little notes to meet her somewhere for some fun, but then make him wait a little while before showing up herself. By the time she arrived Stefan was already practically begging to be touched, having only his fantasies to keep him occupied while he waited. Of course, other times Caroline would slam him against the nearest wall completely out of the blue and devour his neck with her lips and tongue. He wasn't sure which he loved more, the anticipation of knowing what he was in for, or the shock of having Caroline jump him.

All of that isn't to say that he didn't come up with his own ways to drive Caroline crazy as well, but his techniques were more subtle. A carefully placed kissed in a room full of people, a brush of fingertips when he knew they couldn't follow through for hours. Sometimes he would whisper ridiculously sexy things under his breath as they ate breakfast with everyone, knowing no one would be able to hear him but Caroline. He loved to watch the blush color her cheeks, the blood in her veins begin to pump faster. It was incredibly thrilling to have such an affect on her, and Stefan used his skill every chance he got.

Stefan didn't love the feel of the hard wood against his bare ass, but he still felt incredible as he waited for Caroline. He let out a sigh of relief as he heard her get up from the kitchen table and bit his lip as he waited for her to begin her ascent up the stairs. She never made him wait too long, Caroline never pushed Stefan so far as to make him uncomfortable with need. Her main goal was always to make Stefan delirious with satisfaction, and making him wait alittle while definitely revved him up for that.

He could hear Caroline's legs moving her up the stairs then, and Stefan's body began to buzz in excitement. When she finally made it to the bedroom door, he heard her snicker to herself before turning the knob and opening the door.

/

Caroline slipped into her role as a desperate co-ed easily. Her interview with Dr. Potter had given her an idea and she wanted to play the scene with Stefan so badly she could barely keep herself from charging up to their bedroom as soon as she made it home. It always made Stefan crazy though, to make him wait a little bit and Caroline wanted him to be positively shaking from anticipation before she opened their bedroom door.

Her plan was successful, she saw, as she stepped through the doorway and shut the door behind her. Stefan had done exactly as she had instructed and she could tell by the set of his jaw that he was already half-hard and ready to play. She ducked her head submissively as she made eye contact with Stefan, being careful not to show how affected she was by his current state of undress. Stefan's body never failed to make her want to drop to her knees and worship every piece of skin along his body, but she didn't want to break character.

She furrowed her brow slightly as she took a hesitant step forward. "Mr. Salvatore? I- uh- I'm here for the interview?" She made herself sound incredibly unsure of herself, and only made eye contact for seconds at a time.

"Yes." Stefan's voice was commanding, and he leaned back in his chair to give her a better view of his rippling abs.

 _Damn him._

She knew he was tempting her to break, but she held on tight, sticking to her nervous character. "I-I'm Caroline...Caroline Forbes."

"Of course, come take a seat." There was a chair waiting for her on the opposite side of the desk and Caroline smiled internally at his initiative. Stefan rifled through some papers on his desk before looking up at her. "I don't see your letters of recommendation, did you bring them with you?"

Caroline's eyes shot up, letting a terrified expression pull at her features. "What? No...I sent it...I-I don't have it. Are you sure you don't have it Mr. Salvatore?"

Stefan's face set into one of annoyed disappointment. "If you aren't prepared Miss Forbes, there is nothing I can do for you."

"No!" Caroline shook her head, pleading with her eyes. "I-I would do anything for this position Mr. Salvatore...surely there is something you can do."

The corner of Stefan's mouth pulled up into a quick smirk before dropping and leaning forward slightly. "I don't know...it depends on how bad you want it."

She kept her voice anxious, but let it slip into seductive as she spoke."Oh- I want it. I want it _bad_ Mr. Salvatore."

"I see." Stefan said firmly. "Alright then. Go and lock the door Miss Forbes."

Caroline pretended to look startled for a moment before smiling shyly and doing as she was told. As she turned back around to walk back towards the desk, she ducked her head slightly and spoke in a near whisper. "What...what can I do for you Mr. Salvatore?"

"What do you want to do Miss Forbes?" Stefan's voice came back to her softly, but there was a heat in his words that sent fire down her abdomen.

"I-I want to touch you." She said quietly, taking another step closer. "May I touch you Mr. Salvatore?"

Stefan pushed himself away from his desk slightly, to give her more access and nodded. "Anything to help a student."

Caroline giggled softly at that, but moved apprehensively towards Stefan's chair. As she approached, the bottom half of Stefan's body was no longer hidden by the desk and she could see Stefan's dick, hard and nearly touching his stomach.

She took the last few steps with her eyes locked on Stefan's, walking right up to stand between his legs and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Is this okay?" She said meekly.

"Its fine." He said casually.

She moved her hands down so they were stroking his biceps. "What about this?"

"Still fine Miss. Forbes."

Caroline slowly sank to her knees and moved her hands up and across Stefan's chest, letting them glide under his tie. "And this?"

"Its nice." Stefan said, fire igniting behind his eyes despite his casual tone.

"Hmm." Caroline moved her hands so that they moved down his chest and across his stomach. She let her thumbs rub against Stefan's hip bones, tracing circles around them as she dipped her head lower so that her breath would hit the tip of Stefan's dick. "What about this Mr. Salvatore? Is this okay?"

She could hear his heart rate accelerating, so she was impressed when he answered with an even, "Yes. Its good Miss. Forbes."

Caroline smiled slightly, letting it be known her character was pleased with her affect on him. She moved her fingertips lower, grazing Stefan's thighs. She let her lips pucker together slightly as she leaned forward, teasing Stefan with the idea of her mouth wrapped around him. She let out a breath to tickle his skin before moving her head up and coming up on her toes to angle her face next to Stefan's.

Her lips brushed against Stefan's jaw as she spoke. "May I kiss you Mr. Salvatore?"

"If you wish." Stefan's tone was impartial but Caroline could hear the slight hitch in his breath. She nuzzled his jaw with her nose, bringing her lips up to just barely dust across his mouth, before leaning back down, and settling onto her knees once more. She heard him suck in a quiet breath as she bent her head down and kissed the tip of his dick. Caroline lifted her eyes to look up at Stefan as she trailed kisses down his shaft, darting her tongue out to lick her way back up again. Her hands stayed on Stefan's thighs, caressing softly before grasping him firmly.

"Do you like how I kiss Mr. Salvatore?" Her voice wavered with mock uncertainty. She was pleased to see that Stefan found it difficult to form words and merely nodded down at her. She smiled softly before opening her mouth and wrapping her lips around his tip, sucking gently at first and then harder as he let out sounds of approval.

Caroline moved her way down, taking in Stefan's entire length before pulling back up, massaging the shaft with her tongue as she went. Stefan's hand was in her hair then, a gentle pressure, nothing forceful, and Caroline hummed around his dick. His hips bucked up at the sensation and she gripped him more firmly at the waist to hold him down. Caroline let her teeth graze his sensitive flesh as playful punishment.

Stefan hissed but stayed still as Caroline bobbed back down, taking him in fully again before pulling back up and sucking the tip. She pulled back and flicked her tongue at the pre-come that began to bead from his slit, looking up at Stefan as she licked him clean.

"Are you teasing me Miss. Forbes?"

"I wouldn't dream of it." She said quickly in defense. "Let me make it up to you Mr. Salvatore."

Stefan smiled wickedly and nodded. Caroline stood then, ignoring the disappointed look Stefan gave her, before lifting her shirt over her head. Her bra was a simple white with lace around the edging, perfect for the innocent student act. She looked down at herself and ran a fingertip along her cleavage as she looked down at Stefan. "Is this alright?"

"You're beautiful Miss Forbes." Stefan said smoothly, his voice hushed in lust.

She smiled sweetly before unbuttoning her shorts and pushing them off her hips to let them fall to the floor. Their removal revealed her lacy white boyshorts that hung low on her waist, and clung expertly to her hips. She looked back to Stefan through her lashes and batted them at him innocently. "And now?"

"Exquisite." Stefan's eyes were wide and focused on the curves she was showing off as Caroline moved back towards him. She straddled his legs as she sat on top of him, pushing his dick against his stomach. Stefan let out an involuntary moan as she pressed against him and Caroline bent down to inhale the sound. She pressed her lips against his hesitantly, tracing Stefan's lips with her tongue. He opened his mouth to allow her entrance and soon felt the instant shock of electricity that accompanied Caroline's tongue stroking his own. Her hips began to move, slowly rubbing herself against his hardness.

Stefan's hands traveled down Caroline's arms, to land on her waist where he held on tightly, still letting her control the rhythm but gently pushing her down harder against him. As his hips arced to meet hers more fully Caroline pulled her lips away from Stefan's and kissed down to his neck. "Do you want me Mr. Salvatore?" Her lips moved against his skin, sending shivers down his spine.

"Yes..." Stefan was panting and Caroline stifled the moan that wanted to escape at that sound. "I want...you."

Caroline trailed kisses up his jaw, making her way to his ear where she sucked in his earlobe and nipped at it, just short of too hard. Her voice was a velvet whisper in his ear. "Then take me."

Caroline heard a growl escape Stefan's throat as he gripped her hips tightly and quickly picked her up so he could stand. Her underwear was in shreds seconds later and Caroline found herself being thrown backwards onto Stefan's desk, Stefan between her legs and kissing down her chest. She gasped and moaned as Stefan pulled her bra cups down to reveal her nipples and sucked one into his mouth. He teased her with his tongue, and bit down just enough to make her squirm before ripping the bra off entirely. He cupped her breasts as he moved up to her neck grinding himself against her heat, eliciting another pleasurable moan from Caroline.

Caroline wrapped her legs around Stefan's waist and reached between them, guiding Stefan inside of her. As he pushed inside, Stefan kept his forehead against Caroline's neck, kissing and sucking along her collarbone as she mewled beneath him. Caroline was positive there was nothing better than this feeling, of being filled by Stefan. She felt her body opening up and accepting him eagerly and she wanted nothing more than to make Stefan come.

Stefan pulled back out slowly, only to push quickly back inside, feeling Caroline's body tremble beneath him as he moved. She ran her hands up and down his arms before reaching around and gripping his ass firmly.

"Oh.. _.God_..." Caroline panted as Stefan moved inside of her, grinding himself against her as they pushed together, hitting her sweet spot with the kind of expertise only an experienced lover of Caroline's could do. "Mr...Salva-... _fuck_!" She groaned as Stefan picked up the pace, loving the sound of his surname on Caroline's tongue.

Caroline looked up to find Stefan staring down at her with so many emotions warring behind his eyes it almost made her dizzy, but knew she looked just the same. She didn't think she would ever get tired of having sex with Stefan. Whether they were having slow, lazy morning sex with bad breath and socks on, or trying out the toys they kept under the bed, Caroline loved having Stefan this way. She loved knowing his body, knowing what he liked and didn't like, what would make him calm down and what would make him come violently. It was powerful, but it was also incredibly gratifying, to know someone not only on an emotional level but also on a physical level, so completely.

Stefan pushed her back so Caroline was resting on her elbows and reached his mouth down to suck her left nipple back into his mouth as he continued to move in out of her. Caroline bucked her hips up and arched her back as he flicked around her nipple with his tongue, kissing and biting as she writhed beneath him. The sounds she was making made it be known how close she was and Stefan began to move harder against her.

"I'm-...I'm gunna..." Caroline gasped, reaching out and grabbing Stefan's tie to pull her up as she began to fall into her orgasm. Her head dropped back as her hips bucked furiously, riding herself into oblivion as Stefan followed her. He cried out as he climaxed, his entire body shaking before collapsing on top of his nearly unconscious girlfriend.

They laid there, Stefan standing but draped over Caroline's body as she lay sprawled out over his desk. As their heart rates returned to normal, and their breathing slowed, both vampires heard Damon's voice through the walls.

"You sure showed me Stefan." It was laced in a combination of humor and irritation and Caroline's jaw dropped as her hand snapped over her mouth.

Stefan let out a snicker as he pushed himself up and pulled out of Caroline.

"Oh my god!" She whispered. "How much do you think he heard?"

"Its not like you were trying to be quiet, _Miss Forbes_."

Caroline smiled mischievously. "My apologies, _Mr. Salvatore."_

/

A half hour later, Stefan and Caroline were wrapped around each other in their bed, having just finished round two with the added addition of the brand new vibrator Caroline had been keeping in the box under their bed. Stefan knew he didn't need any toys to get Caroline off, but it was fun to see how many different ways he could make her lose control.

"You know, someday I'd like to try that on you...if you'd let me." Caroline said softly, kissing his chest absently.

"Really?" Stefan tensed for a second but relaxed a moment later. It wasn't like he had a strict policy about what he would and wouldn't do, but he had never really enjoyed the few times Katherine stuck her finger up his ass and didn't think a vibrator would be any different.

"Only if you'd want me to."

He didn't know how to answer that in the moment, so Stefan just kissed the top of Caroline's head. "We'll see."

She chuckled against his skin and looked up at him. "Bad experience?"

"Something like that." He said casually.

"Hmm." She didn't push, knowing Stefan would tell her when he was ready.

"So," Stefan redirected, "When do you start your new job?"

"I've got training on Monday morning." Caroline kicked her feet in excitement and pushed herself up on her elbows. "I cant believe I'm going to be a peer counselor. Of course, I still want to be involved with the musical in the spring, but i really feel like helping people is my life calling. I mean, i feel like i've got a lot of experience with grief now...why not put it to good use?"

Stefan smiled down at her and rolled to his side so that he was facing her, propping himself up on his elbow. "You're going to be great."

"I know!" She beamed for a moment before furrowing her brow and letting her doubt seep in. "But...what if someone's problems are like, super scary and i don't know what to do?"

Stefan leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. "You'll figure it out." His hand reached up and stroked her hair, pushing it back behind her ears. "You are the kindest, smartest, most amazing woman I have ever known, anyone would be lucky to have you as their counselor."

Caroline smiled widely and leaned in to kiss him. "You're perfect. You know that?"

"Yeah." Stefan teased. "But I like hearing you say it anyway."

Caroline scoffed, although her laughter removed any trace of annoyance. Her hand shot out and pushed against Stefan's chest hard enough to get him to fall back against the mattress. "Shut up."


	5. Chapter 5

There wasn't much Kai Parker was afraid of.

He was debatably one of the most powerful people on earth, and his cocky nature protected him from nagging thoughts of impending doom.

However, staring up at the yellowing ceiling of their hotel in Rome, his mind racing and unable to sleep, Kai could feel the trickle of fear seeping through his veins .

Something was happening to him, and he couldn't put a name to what it was.

The incident with his magic tapping out by the pool happened again the next day, and again only hours before falling into bed next to Elena that night. They were small incidents, something another witch could have explained away with exhaustion or lack of focus, but Kai knew better. He was the leader of the Gemini coven. He was incredibly powerful and shouldn't have to rest before summoning his girlfriend a bowl of M&Ms.

It was as if his power had been temporarily drained, and then moments later he was back to normal. He had yet to bring it up to Elena, since his magic wasn't the only thing he noticed being slightly off.

The other day, he saw a small child fall into the large fountain outside of their hotel, and he found himself just watching her flail under the water. He didn't enjoy what he saw, in fact the fear in the little girl's eyes as she tried to keep her head above water, made him feel almost nothing. It took him a moment to realize that he should care about this, that he should want to help the girl, but for a brief moment, he found himself utterly disinterested.

It was a brief lapse though, and Kai had snapped out of his ambivalence relatively quickly as Elena surged forward to pull the girl from the water. By the time he made it over to the fountain, a normal amount of concern graced his features, but he wasn't sure if it was because he actually felt that way, or if it was because he knew he should.

It was familiar to him, the calm feeling that accompanied his previous psychopathy was once a warm blanket he wrapped himself in, but now it turned his stomach. Now that he knew what it was like to care, Kai didn't want to let that ability go. It was becoming more apparent after the last couple days though, that something was changing in him, or perhaps changing back.

Elena shifted in bed next to him and Kai turned his body so it was facing hers. She was curled around a pillow, her hand resting under her cheek as she slept. Kai found himself wondering how they had gotten to that point, where Elena trusted him enough to sleep next to him, to let her guard down and feel positive that Kai would not harm her. Of course, he had no intention of doings so, and after the last few months he had certainly proved how much he cared for Elena, but he still did find it interesting that he had once tortured her for hours, and now here she was in his bed.

 _I could kill her while she slept, it would be over before she even knew what happened._

Kai winced as the thought left him, closing his eyes tightly and shaking it away.

 _What was that?_

 _I don't want to kill Elena. Sure she is the kind of person who opens the cereal from the bottom of the box and doesn't notice and it makes me want to strangle her over breakfast, but I don't actually want to strangle her._

 _Most of the time._

 _.I care about her. I do._

 _I care about Elena._

Kai began repeating the phrase in his head, his very own mantra to remind him of who he was now. He was not the man who tortured Elena, or killed innocent people. He wasn't the guy who stuffed Bonnie in the truck of a car and brutally stabbed her. He wasn't necessarily a "good guy", but he wasn't a bad one anymore either.

The fact remained though, that something was happening to him. Something was draining Kai of his magic, and taking his emotions with it.

Kai turned over again, this time giving Elena his back and facing their balcony which they had left open to let in the night's breeze. The city's lights were a soft glow, normally soothing but tonight nothing but florescent screams pushing at the witch's eyelids.

Kai pulled himself out of bed, intending to close the curtains but ended up wandering out onto the balcony, sucking in the night air like it was the remedy to his sins.

The light from the hotel room next door irritated his view of the night's sky, and Kai flicked his hand towards it, the lights going out almost instantly.

 _Damn straight._

It was odd, but the simple act of turning off the lights in the other room felt more draining than it should have. It was like he had just walked up the stairs rather than just out to the balcony. He wasn't winded or anything, but he could feel the difference.

Something was definitely going on, and Kai had a feeling it had something to do with the newest members of the Gemini coven.

Normally, the birth of the next set of twins intended to merge, didn't affect the current leader at all, but Kai wondered if it was different this time considering he hadn't merged with his twin, but his brother Luke instead.

Kai leaned over the balcony as he thought over his options.

 _Obviously I need to pay Jo and her little bundles a visit, but i doubt she is actively trying to do anything to drain me. She isn't that stupid._

 _Maybe it has nothing to do with them, and some other idiot is trying to make a name for themselves._

Kai turned back towards his hotel room door and leaned back against the balcony. He found Elena's sleeping form on the bed and let out a loud sigh.

 _Either way, I think its time to take crazy pants home._

/

"Finally." Damon huffed in irritation, holding his hand out to help his brother up as Stefan came back from unconsciousness. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry," Stefan replied back frostily. "Bullet to the brain will do that."

Caroline was by his side, handing Stefan a blood bag and giving Damon the evil eye. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."Stefan took the bag and began drinking. "Any ideas on who it was?"

Damon shook his head, his fists were clenched tightly beside him. "No. I couldn't see anything more than a shadow in the woods."

There were moments that Damon wondered if he had made the right decision to become human again. This was definitely one of those moments. If he were still vampire he could have sped after whoever it was, probably kill them before they had a chance to get more than ten feet. "How did you know?"

"Huh?" Stefan asked with a furrowed brow.

"You stepped in front of the bullet, how'd you know someone was about to throw me in a coffin?"

"I was already on my way downstairs, headed for the basement but then I heard the gun cock." Stefan turned towards the doorway of the kitchen where Lily was leaning. "I heard Lily's heart in the living room and yours in the kitchen."

"Ooh." Damn teased, looking at his mother. "Burn."

Lily questioned him silently, her face morphing in confusion.

"Stefan chose to save me over you." Damon clarified, rolling his eyes that he had to explain.

Lily nodded, no trace of emotion on her face. "Oh I see." Lily shrugged and moved inside the kitchen. "I am glad Stefan chose to protect you Damon, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. But i fail to see what that has to do with fire."

"Fire?" It was Damon's turn to look confused as he turned his back on Caroline and Stefan.

"When you looked at me you said 'Burn.'" Lily tilted her head. "Do you believe our attacker intends to use fire next?"

His mother's inability to understand modern phrases and pop culture references were sometimes extremely entertaining, but right now the last thing Damon wanted to do was explain to her the meaning behind his mediocre insult.

Damon stared at his mother like she was the bane of his existence for a long second before Caroline interrupted what was going to be a long string of curses.

"Oh, its just an expression Lily." Caroline explained in her typical cheery voice. "Its something someone says when they have insulted you." She offered the Salvatore matriarch a sympathetic smile. "But Damon is apparently stuck in the nineties, which is where that particular insult should have stayed." Caroline smirked at Damon who was glaring at her.

"Don't explain things to her Blondie. We got her a computer for a reason." Damon looked back to his mother. He spoke down to her like she was a toddler receiving instructions on how to use the bathroom. "Remember the internet Lily? You have a question, look it up."

"Damon." Stefan said firmly. "Can we get back to the part where i end up on the floor with a hole in my head?"

"Yeah, good thinking." Caroline said softly giving her boyfriend a stroke along his spine before turning to face Damon."Who would want you dead?" Stefan scoffed beside her and Caroline snickered a long with him. "I mean, beside everyone you've ever talked to."

"Hilarious. Really." Damon replied dryly. He moved over the kitchen table and sat down on the bench. "I don't know. Most of the people who hate me enough to take me out are vampires or witches, doesn't make much sense they would use a gun to do the deed."

It was true, he had acquired an enormous list of enemies in his hundred plus years, but right now he couldn't come up with anyone who would go try this hard to put him in the ground.

"Maybe they wanted to be able to escape easily if they missed the mark. Hand to hand can be risky in this house." Caroline thought aloud.

"Maybe." Stefan agreed, shrugging. "Why Damon though? I mean, I know you aren't winning any popularity contests, but-"

Damon cut in. "You think I know why someone wanted to pull an Oswald? I-"

"Did you just compare yourself to JFK?" Caroline interrupted with an incredulous glare but Damon continued.

"-don't know why this happened." Damon stood up, his lips curling into a snarl. "But you can bet your ass I'm going to find out."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're human now." Lily offered. "Perhaps someone wishes to remove the cure to vampirism from this dimension entirely."

"Well thats not going to happen." Damon said quickly. "I have no intention of being a Benjamin Button reversal story and Stefan here isn't letting me get shot anytime soon."

Stefan looked at his brother with a 'Oh really' glare but said nothing.

"Damon, you need to be careful." Caroline said slowly. "Whatever this is, Bonnie could get hurt in the process-"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to her Caroline." Damon said firmly, as if it was the most obvious statement in the world. "Whatever this is, its about me, Bonnie stays out of it."

"You aren't going to try to keep this from her, are you?" The blonde vampire challenged, crossing her arms.

"No." Damon sighed. "I think i've proven I'm not suicidal."

"Good." Caroline nodded and uncrossed her arms. "How are we going to figure out who it was out there?"

Placing his drained blood bag on the counter, Stefan stepped forward. "Damon and I will go into the woods and try to see if they left anything behind. Maybe you should be the one to tell Bonnie, Caroline."

Caroline raised her brow for a moment but then nodded. "Yeah. I'll call her."

Damon leaned towards his brother's girlfriend. "don't go making a mystery novel out of this Blondie. Stick to the facts, no drama."

Caroline gave him an innocent look, which he returned with a 'tell me I'm wrong' look of his own. She relented and raised her hands.

"I know, I know." Caroline sighed. "I'll call her now. Let me know if you find anything."

Stefan leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "We will."

/

Caroline was already pulling her phone out of her pocket and moving towards the living room as the brother's back's retreated from Lily's vision.

She walked over to the window and eyed the whole in the glass with scrutiny. There was broken glass fragments along the counter and sink, but some of the window still remained intact. Lily brushed her hand along a jagged edge of a shard sticking up from the bottom of the window pane. She felt an enormous amount of anger wash over her as she opened her senses to the emotions that led to the broken glass surrounding her.

The anger was controlled though, not a crime of passion, possibly not even personal. Lily sucked in a deep breath as she thought over what this could mean.

 _It cant be happening already. Its too soon...I should have had more time_.

Lily felt like an enormous weight was suddenly settling against her chest, and she struggled to suck in the breath that was evading her.

 _I will protect him. Even if Damon..._

Lily cut off her own thoughts, not wanting to think the worst yet.

She stared out the window and watched as her sons moved towards the woods. She would have to tell them soon, she knew she couldn't keep this from them much longer.

 _If only Damon had made a clear decision already, or perhaps given some sort of sign as to which side he would fall._

 _His love for Bonnie should keep him from siding with them, but the call of his bloodline could prove to be too strong to resist._

Lily cursed her dead husband in her mind, knowing that no matter her grievances against her children, it was Giuseppe's blood that could put them all in the ground.

/

"What?!" Bonnie nearly screeched into her phone. "Is he-"

"Damon is fine Bonnie." Caroline soothed. "Him and Stefan are in the woods, trying to see if they can find a clue as to who was out there."

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Bonnie said firmly, digging into her purse to find her keys. Knowing Damon had come so close to death had her stomach twisting into knots. He had become her touchstone, her darkly bright partner in a life she was still trying to figure out. The thought of something happening to him, hadn't been on her radar much until now, he had always been nearly invincible and even with his return to humanity, Bonnie had forgotten how easily his life could end.

"Where are you?" Caroline asked patiently. "Maybe I should come get you."

"No its fine. I'm outside Whitmore library." Bonnie answered, walking faster to her car as she searched for her keys with one hand. "I had a class and then needed to do some research on a paper due next week."

"Seriously Bonnie, you don't need to come home if you have things to do. Damon is fine, Stefan is fine. They are doing the hardy boys thing right now."

"I could do a spell, try a locator spell-" The witch huffed as she rifled through her purse some more.

 _Where are my goddamn keys?!_

"Do you think that could work?" There was doubt in her best friends voice and Bonnie resisted the urge to tell her off.

"If they find something out there for me to use." Bonnie made a triumphant sound as her fingers pulled out her keys.

She didn't notice the car traveling behind her, picking up speed as it approached.

"Okay well, I can just call you-"

In an instant Caroline's voice was distant and Bonnie felt like her entire body had been set on fire by a hard blow, the pain immeasurable as she was thrown through the air. She thought she heard a painful cry release from her mouth, but Bonnie couldn't be sure of anything as her body went into shock the moment it hit the ground.

Her mind couldn't hold any clear thoughts, her eyes were scarcely taking in the clear blue sky of the afternoon above her, her mouth was full of something she barely recognized as blood as the sound of a car speeding off registered in her ears.

There were flickers of thoughts as Bonnie's eyelids became heavy and closed.

 _Car._

 _Hit by a car._

 _Caroline, need...phone._

Bonnie wondered if she had in fact reached for her phone, or if it was something she was only dreaming when she finally slipped into darkness.

/

Caroline was cut off by the sound of Bonnie crying out and a loud thump on the other end of the phone. It sent a chill up her spine and if she wasn't already dead, Caroline thought she would have had a heart attack at the implication of what that sound meant.

"Bonnie?" Caroline yelled into the speaker. "Bonnie!"

The only sound Caroline could make out was the squeal of tires along the pavement.

Her mind was racing almost as quickly as her feet as Caroline began to move.

Her phone's screen cracked on impact, having been dropped to the floor as Caroline raced to Bonnie's side.

/

Adjusting the timeline wasn't something she had planned on having to do just yet, but the opportunity presented itself so beautifully, there was no reason she couldn't take out the witch when she had the chance.

The Salvatores would certainly be on her ass from now on, and taking out the Bennett witch would make it easier to take down Damon and Lily when the time came. It would have been better to kill the elder Salvatore brother first, but she would play the cards she was dealt.

She didn't even spare the witch a glance in the rearview mirror as she sped away.


	6. Chapter 6

Bonnie Bennett hasn't felt truly at peace in over three years.

When she found out she was a witch, it was bewildering, and somewhat overwhelming, but it didn't upend her entire life.

No, that prize went to the Salvatore brothers.

The moment Bonnie met Stefan, and then Damon, it was like her skin was set on fire.

She immediately didn't trust them, she could feel what they were from just a brush of skin and it sent her spiraling towards darkness. It was something Bonnie wasn't aware she was capable of, the kind of blinding hatred she felt for the vampires, but it was there. It made her mind work faster, her temper flare stronger, and her heart love more deeply.

It's not as if she wouldn't have taken a bullet for Elena before she met the Salvatore's, but it wasn't something she actively campaigned for the way she had been doing. She felt her witchcraft was a responsibility, and her love for her friends brought her down that path of naming herself their protector.

There is no peace for those who sacrifice their entire lives, for the safety of their loved ones.

Every day, every minute, was spent thinking of ways to keep her friends safe. There were times she found the vampire's included in that, and times they were not. There were times when she would have staked both the Salvatore's herself, and times she would have taken a wooden bullet for either of them.

It was surprising, the first time Bonnie felt the need to protect Damon.

With Stefan, it made sense, her natural distrust of him began to slip away as he proved himself to be a devoted friend and a good man. She found herself wanting to keep him safe almost as much as Elena, he had become her friend.

Damon, however, he made it impossible for Bonnie to care about him at first. He used her, manipulated her, threatened her, he did whatever he had to, to get what he wanted.

Bonnie hated him.

She hated him, and she knew no peace.

Over time, Damon had found his way into Elena's heart, but Bonnie still didn't trust him.

There was a chemistry there, sure, that was undeniable. When he leaned into her face and spewed his snark down to her, Bonnie would lap it up and throw it right back. They didn't bounce off one another, like enemies naturally do, they connected, they collided. When they were fighting, Bonnie and Damon were magnets that refused to be pulled apart.

She could feel it, that magnetism towards Damon, under her skin whenever she was around him, but the vague draw became a violent pull whenever emotions ran high. Her blood screamed to be near him, her skin itched with anticipation.

By the time they found themselves trapped in 1994, in Kai's prison world, Bonnie recognized the effect Damon had over her.

She deemed it as a passionate dislike for one another, but rarely did the word hate enter her mind anymore. He had proven himself to be an ally, if nothing else, and Bonnie began to let herself rest around him.

She let her guard down, but still, there was no peace.

Fighting, bickering, teasing, and screaming matches.

At first, these were the things that made up their time together in 1994.

But after the first month, their fights held more passion than they ever did before, and their teasing caused wider smiles than either of them had ever coaxed out of the other before.

Their relationship morphed and changed, it danced and fought its way into something far deeper and more profound.

Bonnie could now call Damon her friend, but she could not find peace.

Damon was strong in will, just as he was in body. He was fiercely protective of her, and proved how much he actually cared for Bonnie repeatedly.

Such a prolonged period of time alone with someone is bound to bring you closer together, and Bonnie wasn't surprised to find herself having very deep feelings for the man she once thought worse the than devil. He had become someone she could trust, someone she relied on.

Damon was her lifeline.

Damon was her support system.

Damon Salvatore was her best friend.

When Bonnie laid alone and bleeding in the cave, right after Damon been sent back to present time, that was the first time she realized she loved him.

It wasn't romantic, not that she realized at least, but it was true.

She knew it from the way she was willing to die to get him home. She sacrificed herself so that Damon could go home to Elena.

Bonnie Bennett loved Damon Salvatore, but still, there was no peace.

She had a lot of time to think about Damon, and how much she took their relationship for granted, when she was alone. After Kai stabbed her, after he had left her, and Bonnie was contemplating ending it all, she thought over her time with Damon. She thought about their fights and their jokes.

She thought about the way her heart would hammer and flutter at the same time whenever he spoke to her. She replayed each scene, each moment, as if it would bring her an answer to a question she had still not asked herself.

When her hand was full of the ascendant, and the world was whiting out around her as she transported back home, Bonnie was thrilled. She was exhilarated, and terrified, and overcome with more emotion than she had felt since the day she showed up on Gilbert's front porch expecting to be rescued.

There were plenty of people or places she could go to, but Bonnie wanted to go home when she found herself back in Mystic Falls.

Maybe it would have unnerved some people that their home had become someone who they had once loathed, but for Bonnie- she was grateful.

She was so thankful that she could show up to Damon's house, make him pancakes, and be literally welcomed with open arms. His excitement to see her, radiated off his body, his smile melted her heart and built it back up again.

Bonnie was with Damon; she was home.

But peace still evaded her.

The drama with Damon's mother, with the Harbingers, forced Bonnie to look harder at her feelings for Damon.

The way he looked at her, the way Damon so obviously found comfort in her eyes, it pushed Bonnie to see something she had been actively ignoring since she returned home.

Damon's relationship with Elena was unraveling right before Bonnie's eyes, and instead of sympathy for her friends, Bonnie felt hope. It was distractingly selfish, and she hated herself for it, but Bonnie had begun to see Damon as her only possible destination.

The way he made her feel, the way he protected her, cared for her, fought with her and joked with her, all of the things that made them what they were, all of it swam around Bonnie like taunting promises of something more.

When the walls she had built to keep herself from thinking of Damon came crashing down around her, Bonnie nearly crumpled in defeat.

Elena was still her best friend, a sister she never had and would always love.

But Bonnie was in love with Damon, and peace seemed impossible.

Then, the stars aligned, the earth shook, and time stood still because Damon Salvatore was in love with Bonnie too.

They were in love, and they were together.

They fought side by side, they supported one another, they became an unbreakable unit.

Damon became human, and Bonnie hadn't felt as light and happy, since before she had found out she was a witch.

She had a partner now, she had someone who depended on her, but didn't demand of her. She was strong, she was brave, and she was a hell of a woman.

Bonnie hadn't known true peace in over three years, but she was frighteningly close to it before her body was laid out on the pavement, in a wet smear of her own blood.

The sky was blue above her, and birds chirped loudly from a nest nearby, but Bonnie saw and heard nothing.

Her brain was nearly shut down completely when a calm, blissful feeling began to wash over her.

It wasn't like the in movies, or like what you read about in books.

There wasn't a bright light or a blink of nonexistence, it was a slow creep of serenity.

Starting at her toes, Bonnie felt something moving through her body. It was cool, but refreshing like lemonade on a hot summer day. The pressure was light, but firm enough to be sure when it began moving up her body.

She didn't have enough sense to be afraid, her emotions and thoughts shutting down with her body. There was only the sensation of cool comfort, and warm expectation.

As the feeling moved up her body, Bonnie felt herself letting go. There was nothing to feel, but calm, nothing to know but eventual peace.

If her body would have let her, it's possible Bonnie would have smiled as the serene sensation made its way towards her head. It was a beautiful thing, to know that everything was going to be okay, that everyone she loved would be alright.

As the feeling crept up to her collar bone, there was a flicker of something harsh and Bonnie's peace began to retreat.

Instead of moving up her body, it cowarded itself back towards her stomach. She didn't have the faculties to be upset, but the upcoming absence of her serenity made Bonnie want to feel again.

There was another pang of discomfort, like something was pushing its way inside of her body and Bonnie began to fear the continued disappearance of the calm, cool warm feeling.

It was suddenly too bright, even with her eyes lidded and guarded with unconsciousness, and Bonnie felt her promise of peace slipping towards her toes. She had the mind to want to reach for it, but her body was still unresponsive.

There were sounds, a voice whispering into what was once a blank slate, and now a jumble of incoming thoughts.

The voice was familiar, and it accompanied a taste in her mouth that slid down her throat in a way Bonnie felt sure she had experienced before.

The final grains of serenity left her body and Bonnie immediately felt like her world was on fire. There was no feeling but pain, and no emotion but fear. She still couldn't move her body, even though she was now fully aware of its presence.

There was something against her mouth.

 _Flesh._

 _A wrist._

There was a wrist against her lips and there was liquid flowing into her mouth.

 _Hot._

 _Rust._

 _Blood._

It was not her own, but the blood of the one who spoke to her.

Bonnie's mind focused, and the pain began to lessen.

"Bonnie?"

 _Caroline_.

/

"Please, Bonnie. Wake up!"

Caroline could hear Bonnie's heart beating again, the rhythm returning to normal, but still her best friend's eyes weren't open.

Bonnie's body was a broken mess on the pavement, her back obviously broken in multiple places and Caroline could hear the bones correcting themselves and healing.

She had gotten there just as Bonnie's heart had stopped. Caroline wasn't sure if anyone had ever run as fast as she had to get to Bonnie's side.

Her teeth were biting into her own wrist before Caroline was even kneeling next to Bonnie, but there was no way to get the blood in her system since her heart had ceased to beat.

Caroline began performing CPR, using one hand to pump Bonnie's heart as the other dripped blood into her mouth.

After a few terrifying moments, Caroline heard the beautiful sound of Bonnie's heart beating once more. She continued to drip blood in her friend's mouth, letting the magic qualities of vampire blood heal each and every one of Bonnie's injuries. She felt it was taking entirely too long for Bonnie to finally make some sort of movement, so when Bonnie began to actively suck and swallow, Caroline let out a loud gasp that sounded strangled in her happy sobs.

"Bonnie!"

Bonnie's eyes fluttered open, tears falling down rapidly as she blinked up at Caroline.

"Thank God!" Caroline cried, bending down and kissing Bonnie's forehead. "Welcome back."

/

"What?!" Damon spat into the phone.

"It's alright." Bonnie soothed, running her hand through her hair. "I'm okay, Caroline got to me in time."

"Bonnie-"

She could hear his outrage, fear, and love all in the way her name fell around his tongue and Bonnie's heart swelled.

"Damon, just calm down. I'm headed home now." Bonnie tried to keep her voice even, not wanting to betray her own fear. "I'll see you soon."

"Keep Caroline with you." Damon said firmly, his emotions barely under control.

"I will."

Caroline slid into the passenger seat of the car as Bonnie ended the call.

"What the hell is going on?" Caroline questioned aloud. "First Damon, now you..."

Bonnie turned the ignition and put the car in reverse.

"...What do you think it means?" Caroline mused.

There was a shake in Bonnie's hands as she pulled out of the parking lot, but she kept it hidden as her knuckles blanched around the steering wheel. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense."

"When does anything ever make sense in this town?" Caroline scowled. "I mean, there are thousands of people who probably wouldn't mind seeing Damon in the ground, but you? Bonnie, who would want to kill you?"

Bonnie shrugged, not willing to voice any theories for fear her rising anxiety would be laced through every word.

"I guess it could be about Damon, you know, a way to get to him? But still..."

Caroline pulled out her phone and began texting.

"Who are you talking to?" Bonnie asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Elena. I think she should come home."

Bonnie thought about that for a moment, a welcome distraction from what had happened to her only moments before.

Bonnie and Elena's relationship was still not what it was, but it wasn't as strained as it was at the beginning of her relationship with Damon.

They had always been like sisters, so they still loved each other, but there would always be that feeling of unease whenever they were around each other now.

Thankfully, Elena had left with Kai not long after Jo and Alaric's wedding, so she didn't have to suffer too long in the awkwardness that had become their friendship.

Of course Bonnie missed Elena though, and was hoping that with enough time they could get back to where they were. Elena's relationship with Kai unnerved her, but Bonnie was willing to work past it if it meant she and Elena could be close again.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

"You guys going to be okay?" Caroline said with a raise of her brow.

Bonnie shrugged again. "I guess we'll see."

Caroline nodded and finished her text. When she placed her phone between them in the cup holder, she sighed and looked out the window.

"Maybe it has something to do with witches." Caroline said absently. "You are both witches, maybe that's what this is."

"What- like a rival coven or something?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know, is that a thing? Are there turf wars among witches?"

"Probably." Bonnie sighed. "There is a lot of history, and it's hard to know what is real and what is just lore."

"What do you mean?"

"Witches have been around far longer than the Mikaelsons like to boast Caroline. Esther was not really the 'Original witch', she was just the first to be powerful enough on her own to do a spell like the one she did to make her children into vampires." Bonnie explained. "There are centuries worth of history, and there have definitely been wars between covens over dominance of an area. But it wouldn't make any sense for there to be that kind of disturbance right now. There are only two Gemini coven witches in the area, and I am a Bennett. Once Kai gets back there will be three Gemini's but that's still not enough for a local coven to get territorial."

She shook her head as she continued to think out loud. "Unless, of course, there is a new coven looking to move into town and doesn't want to have to deal with any other witches. But it would be suicidal to take on the Gemini coven, everyone knows how powerful Kai is."

"Maybe they think he wouldn't care enough to protect Damon and Lily."

"Maybe, and who knows if he will."

"He will." Caroline said firmly. "If he wants to keep Elena happy, Kai will definitely be playing on our team."

"True." Bonnie agreed. Her mind drifted back to Elena and she swallowed back the nerves that began to creep up from her stomach. "So...is she coming back?"

"I texted her, so she knows what's up." Caroline shrugged. "I think its like, the middle of the night there so I'm sure she will reply when she gets up." Caroline looked at her friend inquisitively. "Are you sure things are okay between you two?"

Bonnie sighed. "As much as they can be I think. I mean, last time I checked she didn't hate me or anything, so I think that's something."

"Definitely a step in the right direction." Caroline agreed.

Guilt floated through Bonnie then, and it wasn't just because she was sleeping with her best friend's ex. "Has she said anything else? About Kai?"

Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Like what?"

Bonnie shrugged noncommittally.

The truth, was that the secret Lily had shared with her the other day, was one she wasn't sure she could tell Caroline. Lily was right, if anyone knew what they were doing it would cause a major rift and Bonnie didn't want anything else to come between her and her friends.

At the same time, though, she had to do what was necessary to keep them safe.

"Just... how he was acting... Or whatever." Bonnie carefully avoided Caroline's gaze.

"Uh...no." Caroline said slowly. "I mean, not really. Why?"

"No reason." Bonnie replied back as casually as she could manage. "Just want to be sure he is still not stabbing people and throwing them in trunks."

Caroline made a face. "God, he really sucked before he stole himself a soul."

Bonnie stomped down the guilt that threatened to surface again and only nodded.

She had to remember why they were doing this. She was lying, but she was doing it for the right reasons.

She still held her reservations about what she and Lily were doing, but she knew one thing for sure.

There wasn't anything Bonnie wouldn't do to protect the people she loved.


	7. Chapter 7

_"You don't have to do this Damon." Her pleading only pushes him closer. "This isn't you. Fight it!"_

 _Damon looks down into the eyes he has found comfort in time and time again, but now only sees a target. There is no emotion in his voice, and the part of him that knows this isn't right has begun to scream internally. "This is who I am. It's in my blood. It's the way it's always been, it's the way it will always be."_

 _The words sound like they are being read from a textbook, and he is only sure he is the one who said them by the way Bonnie looks up at him. "Damon, please." She is whispering, and Damon feels the war his mind has been battling coming to a head, each side, making their final stand, as he hovers the knife over his girlfriend's body._

 _Before his lover for her is able to stop him, Damon is plunging the knife into Bonnie's body, and watching the light leave her eyes._

 _He knows he should feel something, but the part of him that cares has retreated so far inside of himself, he is doubtful that it will ever return._

 _Damon scans the room when he finally pulls his eyes away from Bonnie's lifeless body._

 _Surrounding him, in a perfectly woven circle, are countless bloodied bodies. At first, there are none that he recognizes, just faceless people covered in wounds he knows he inflicted. He continues to search them though, knowing there is something else for him to see. As his eyes move their way from body to body, the faces take more familiar shapes._

 _Suddenly he is surrounded by the bodies of the entire Gemini coven, and Damon recognizes the satisfied smile that sneaks to his lips._

He woke with a quick inhale, and Damon's body jolted up quickly from the bed as his chest heaved.

Bonnie stirred next to him, her hand reaching out to rub against his back in the dark. "Damon? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" Damon couldn't think, couldn't breathe, not with the images of his dream still swirling in his mind. "No-Yeah. It's fine, go back to sleep."

Bonnie mumbled something and then pulled him back down to the bed, wrapping her arms around Damon protectively. He wanted to resist, just for the simple reason that he was murdering her in his sleep only seconds ago, but Damon allowed himself to settle into her body. He took the warmth she sent out, and let it coat him in comfort.

But no matter how soft and soothing Bonnie's embrace was, Damon couldn't go back to sleep. The nightmares behind his eyes were too fresh and he was afraid to close his them, for fear of living it again.

/

"What is that? The third one this week?" Caroline said softly, trailing her fingers along Stefan's bare chest as they laid in bed.

"That we know of." Stefan answered back.

"What do you think it is?" She asked, propping herself up on her pillow. "The nightmare, I mean."

"I don't know." Stefan turned to face her. "Damon isn't exactly a sharer."

"True." Caroline sighed, working her hand up to pull through Stefan's hair absently as she thought. "Do you think Bonnie knows?"

"She shares his bed, I doubt she's missed them."

"Yeah." Caroline's eyes were on the ceiling, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Stefan jerked his head slightly as he regarded her. "Are you-?" He propped himself up to face his girlfriend more directly. "Are you _concerned_ for Damon?" There was a playful smile on his lips and Caroline resisted the urge to kiss it away.

"No!" She said quickly, her own smile betraying her. "Of course not, don't be silly."

"Oh, you don't fool me, Miss Forbes," Stefan's grin widened. "You _care_ about him. Admit it!"

Caroline scoffed. "What? Me? Care about Damon? Don't make me laugh." She rolled her eyes dramatically and waved Stefan away. "You're insane."

Stefan's hands traveled down to Caroline's waist and squeezed gently, just enough to earn a laugh from the blonde beauty. "You can't hide it anymore Caroline." He tickled her again and Caroline tried to squirm away. "You're worried about my brother." He said it like he thought it was the most adorable thing in the world, and Caroline tried to balk between her giggles.

"You _loooove_ him." Stefan's smile was wide and toothy, and Caroline was just trying to hold her laughter in because she knew Stefan was right, but would never admit it aloud.

"Stefan!" She panted through her laughter. "Stop!"

"Admit it Caroline," Stefan teased. "Admit it, and I'll stop."

"Never!" She shot back, this time taking Stefan's hand and throwing it to the bed, climbing on top of him to gain the upper hand. "I'll never surrender Mr. Salvatore." She whispered down to him, kissing his lips softly.

"Hmm." Stefan purred under her lips. He thought about turning the tables, and pushing her onto her back, but the way Caroline was beginning to roll her hips above him threw that idea out the window, and Stefan allowed Caroline to take him apart.

/

Bonnie shut Lily's bedroom door carefully, not wanting to wake the still sleeping vampires across the hall.

"I have everything ready for us." Lily said, already seated on the floor with several items in front of her.

Bonnie's eyes traveled down to the silver chalice at Lily's knees, the metal engravings catching her eye just as easily as the first time she had seen them. The chalice was a Gemini coven heirloom. It was once assumed lost, but Lily's ability to find absolutely anything she desired, helped her locate it. She found it buried with a past Gemini coven leader, even though burying sacred coven objects with deceased members was forbidden.

Lily suspected the chalice's power, or more accurately, the power the chalice allowed the witch to access, scared the coven enough to hide it. Knowing what it was capable of, Lily had made it one of the first things she located once the battle with the Harbingers was finished.

Inside the chalice was a variety of herbs, and laying across the top was a dagger with ornate carvings in the handle. There was a single blue stone that Lily thought might be a sapphire, right at the base of the blade. A small bowl with symbols drawn into it sat next to the chalice as well. Lily had also already arranged the stones and candles they used during the spell, and Bonnie found her place on the other side of the chalice quickly.

"We need to do this fast." Bonnie whispered. "Damon didn't sleep well last night, so I should be back in bed before he wakes up."

Lily did her best to keep her face even, despite the sudden rush of anxiety at her son's name. "More nightmares?"

"Yeah, he kept saying my name." Bonnie shook her head and looked down to the chalice. "I think he was crying at one point too."

Lily's heartbeat picked up.

 _I thought I would have more time._

 _The pull of his father's blood is too strong-_

"Lily?" Bonnie asked, her eyes watching the older woman carefully.

"Yes." Lily straightened out her expression quickly. "I am ready."

The witches joined hands and began reciting the spell they each had memorized after using it multiple times over the last week. They each took turns filling the chalice with blood from their fingers, and began chanting again.

The blood from the chalice began to drain, seemingly into thin air, but then the small bowl began to fill with their offering. As the spell finished, both women watched the blood that had taken residence in the small bowl, melt into the symbols carved along the interior of the small bowl.

Bonnie sighed. "How much longer do you think this will take?"

"At least a full lunar cycle." Lily answered back, gathering up their supplies from the spell.

"What about Kai? What will he-"

"I suspect Kai will have figured out something is wrong by now." Lily cut her off, her attention falling back to Damon and thoughts of Kai only irritated her. "We should expect him here shortly."

"What?!" Bonnie's face contorted in alarm. "Lily-

"All is well Bonnie." Lily managed a small smile. "Kai is unaware of this spell's existence. It is far too old for him to have heard of it, and he will not suspect us."

"But what about the twins?" Bonnie asked, her voice urgent. "Don't you think he will know they have something to do with this?"

"Perhaps." Lily shrugged slightly and lifted herself from the floor. "I wouldn't worry about that though, Kai's emotions should keep the children safe enough."

Bonnie looked unconvinced as she stood up. "We can't just hope for the best here Lily."

Lily stared back at the young witch for a moment before nodding slightly. "No, I supposed not. I will ward the twin's home, protect them from magic."

"Won't that affect our spell too?" Bonnie asked.

"No, I will make it so only harmful magic is blocked." Lily said absently as she cleaned up the rest of the spell's ingredients, and placed them in the chest at the foot of her bed. "Don't worry, Bonnie, I wouldn't let anything happen to the twins. One of them is the true leader of the Gemini coven, their lives are precious."

Bonnie let out a loud breath and nodded. "Alright." She turned back towards the door. " I should get back, Damon-"

"Yes, you should go." Lily interrupted, her thoughts already on the struggles her eldest son was to face.

Bonnie looked over her shoulder for a second, a questioning look in her eye, but she let it go and left the room as quietly as she entered.

Lily wanted to return to her bed, hoping to get another few hours of sleep before beginning her day for good, but she sat down at her desk instead. It had become a habit to write in a journal, just as she had done in the prison world. It helped her collect her thoughts and express things she couldn't yet speak aloud. She wrote whenever she couldn't sleep, which was fairly often lately, the plot against Kai and Damon's impending decision weighing heavy on her mind.

 _It is only a matter of time before my silence will prove dangerous._

 _His father's blood would have laid claim to his soul on his twenty fifth birthday, but his death and turn to vampirism had kept him twenty four indefinitely. Now that he is human I had hoped my blood, witch's blood, would save him from this. His human birthday quickly approaches, though, and I am no closer to finding a solution, or any evidence that this has happened before._

 _Of course, the reason I married Giuseppe was for the blood that ran in his veins. It held so much promise in creating the world, I had once wanted to create. The blood of a witch hunter, what a gift I thought I had. His love for me clouded his judgment enough to not see the glimmer of magic in myself that I could not suppress, so hiding my own heritage was never a problem. I was not only eager to help him create a new line of witch hunters, I was positively gleeful at the thought._

 _But now, I only wish the best for my children, and myself. I have not only accepted my witch heritage, but I have embraced it as well. I must find a way to release Damon of this, there is no telling what will happen to him now._

 _With both Gemini and witch hunter blood in his body, there is no telling what will become of him._

/

Elena stepped out of the taxi hesitantly.

Kai had been behaving strangely for days, the least of which involved him waking her up in the middle of the night to tell her they needed to go home. He had claimed to worry for his niece and nephew's well being, and that he had a bad feeling, but Elena knew something else was going on.

There were subtle changes at first. A smile that no longer reached his eyes or a snicker that sounded less playful before. But then other things began to happen, like he no longer conjured up some of her favorite treats or offered her his blood. At first Elena thought maybe Kai was losing interest in her, but he still kissed her often and held her hand when he didn't need to. He seemed distant though, and oddly preoccupied for someone so carefree just days before.

The fountain incident had been the tipping point, her confusion and mildly hurt feelings turned quickly to fear when she saw the utterly disinterested look in Kai's eyes while that child flailed in the water. It was only for an instant, and she heard him running behind her after she sped over to save the child, but it was enough for Elena to know something was seriously wrong.

She pulled herself from her worries of Kai though, as she looked up at the familiar house in front of her. Elena felt like she was both coming back home and entering the lions den at the same time. So many memories are associated with the Salvatore brother's house, and Elena felt a chill go down her spine as she approached it.

She led Kai to the front door, his hand sliding into hers casually as they walked towards it. Her body tensed when their feet reached the doormat.

 _Do I knock or just walk in?_

 _I lived here once, it feels weird to knock...but this is also where my ex and my best friend live together. Actually... its where both of my exes and my best friends live together._

 _I should knock._

"Going to make up your mind some time today?" Kai teased, his thumb stroking absently over the top of her hand in encouragement, but his eyes harder than she would have liked.

"Hush." She shot back, lifting her hand up and placing three swifts knocks against the wooden door.

"Ah, went with the knock." Kai's grin wasn't unkind, but it did nothing to soothe her nerves. "You're no fun."

"Shut up Kai." Elena rolled her eyes. She could hear footsteps coming towards the door and by their weight and style, she knew they belonged to her most recent ex. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for possible awkwardness, and definite snark.

The door swung open and Damon Salvatore appeared in it's opening, his eyes going wide for a split second before returning to their naturally narrow state.

The ex-vampire deferred the greeting to the couple standing before him, and Elena swallowed hard before opening her mouth to speak.

Before she could get the words out though, Kai's voice was slipping like silk through her ears.

"Honey, we're home."


End file.
